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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival
material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are
physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available
through the World Wide Web. See the
Duplication Policy section for more information.

Mahlon D. Cushman, a Union soldier during the Civil War, served as a private in Company
I of the 16th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, 1862-1864. As part of the Union garrison
at Plymouth, N.C., the 16th Connecticut, with the 18th Army Corps, defended against
a Confederate land and naval attack, 17-20 April 1864. On 20 April 1864, the Union
garrison at Plymouth surrended, and Cushman was sent to the Andersonville Prison at
Camp Sumter, Ga. He was paroled in November 1864 and discharged with disability in
June 1865. The collection consists of the 1864 pocket diary of Civil War soldier Mahlon D. Cushman.
The diary documents Cushman's capture by Confederate soldiers at the Battle of Plymouth
and subsequent imprisonment in Andersonville Prison. Daily entries are typically brief,
generally indicating weather conditions and occasionally diet. Entries of note include
the 20 April 1864 surrender at Plymouth, the journey southward, and 2 May 1864 arrival
at Andersonville Prison. Brief entries tell of many hundreds of prisoners coming into
the prison and the deaths of prisoners. On 26 November 1864, Cushman recorded his
parole and, on 5 December 1864, his arrival in Annapolis, Md.

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants,
as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Mahlon D. Cushman Diary #5379, Southern Historical
Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum of Watchung, N.J., in February 2008 (Acc. 100860).

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Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or
confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy
laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. §
132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of
State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.).
Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to
identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent
of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under
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person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no
responsibility.

The following terms from
Library of Congress Subject
Headings
suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the
entire collection; the terms do
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discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or
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Mahlon D. Cushman, a Union soldier during the Civil War, served as a private in Company
I of the 16th Connecticut Infantry Regiment from 1862 to 1864. Enlisting on 11 August
1862, Cushman joined his company on 24 August 1862. As part of the Union garrison
at Plymouth, N.C., the 16th Connecticut, with the 18th Army Corps, defended against
a Confederate land and naval attack, 17-20 April 1864. On 20 April 1864, the Union
garrison at Plymouth surrended, and the Union soldiers there become known as "Plymouth Pilgrims."

Like other captured enlisted men and non-commissioned officers, Cushman was sent to
Andersonville Prison located at Camp Sumter, Ga. According to his diary, he arrived
at Andersonville on 2 May 1864. After three months of imprisonment, Cushman was parolled
on 26 November 1864. He was discharged from the Union Army with disability on 8 June
1865.

The collection consists of the 1864 pocket diary of Civil War soldier Mahlon D. Cushman serving with the 16th Connecticut Infantry Regiment. The diary documents Cushman's capture by Confederate soldiers at the Battle of Plymouth in Plymouth, N.C., and subsequent imprisonment in Andersonville Prison in Georgia. Daily entries are typically brief, generally indicating weather conditions and occasionally
diet. Entries of note include the 20 April 1864 surrender at Plymouth, the journey southward, and 2 May 1864 arrival at Andersonville Prison.
Brief entries tell of many hundreds of prisoners coming into the prison and the deaths
of prisoners. In the back of the diary, Cushman listed by name eleven soldiers from
the 16th Connecticut who died while imprisoned Andersonville. On 26 November 1864,
Cushman recorded his parole and, on 5 December 1864, his arrival in Annapolis, Md.